


Kaito's Guide to Dating a Detective at KID's Heist Without Either of Them Getting Caught

by hisfoolishgirl



Series: A Marked Set of Kids [2]
Category: Magic Kaito, 名探偵コナン | Detective Conan | Case Closed
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, By letting the thief steal gems to check under the moonlight, Gen, How Do I Tag, How do an AceSpec and a Bi date?, M/M, Other, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, That is apparently the answer that these bois have figured out, Which means lot of banter, dating fluff, lots of texting
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-03
Updated: 2018-09-13
Packaged: 2019-06-21 00:28:38
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 11,685
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15545604
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hisfoolishgirl/pseuds/hisfoolishgirl
Summary: "Kaito," Shinichi panted from his spot at KID's waist, "Just because your name is KID here - doesn't mean you have to be such a child about this."Kaito frowned, "Yes, well. Just because you are a kid doesn't mean you have to try so hard to be a grown up.""That didn't even make sense!""Neither did the fact that we were running! What were we even running from, Conan?""You were getting shot at! That's what you do then!""... Oh yes. It is, isn't it?""I hate you.""You really don't. You just hate me when I'm right - So yes. Right now would be a you hating me moment, wouldn't it?""I mean - You're not wrong."





	1. #1 - The Invite

Kaito was fiddling with his gear - adjusting his gliders - when his phone buzzed. He smirked as he set down his screwdriver. He picked up the phone with one a moment of doubt flickering through his heart.  _ Perhaps it wasn’t- _

The phone number was unknown, but it was listed. The message that he read was unmistakable. 

_ Didn’t notice your hand sliding into my coat pocket.  _

_ Best never to call this number, eh? _

Kaito smirked.  **Personal number then?**

_ Personal, and presumed dead. _

**That’s the reason for the age discrepancy right?**

**Google says you should be 17 after all.**

_ Told you not to look me up, kiddo. _

**Not really one for listening.**

_ Explains why your best friend is the daughter of the man who’s trying to arrest you. _

**It really does doesn’t it?**

_ You knew all along didn’t you? _

**Bakaito, eh? Didn’t think I hated it that much. Where’s that mark at?**

_ Where’s mine? _

**Depends on which one you’re talking about?**

_ … How many are there? _

**You have been called a child in a lot of different ways, Kudo.**

_ It’s on the inside of my thigh. It’s the only one. Enjoy being Kid? _

**No. But I don’t hate it either. Necessary evil. Let’s talk about that in person.**

_ Where are mine? _

**The small of my back. All of my back. Conan is on my forearm.**

**When did Bakaito appear on you?**

_ I was at a match with my high school soccer team. During half time. Maybe a year ago?  _

_ It was a year before I shrunk. So actually it’s been a bit longer then that.  _

_ It was after Kid reappeared in the news I think. _

**Not surprising.**

**Hadn’t realized that I’d started hating her calling me that.**

_ I don’t think you've ever hated the name, Kaito. I think you hate the lies. _

**But it’s the names that we hate that get etched on our lovers skin, isn’t it?**

_ A rose by any other name would still be a rose. _

_ And I most certainly hate the concept of being a child again. _

_ Your familiarity to her - does it have another name then the ones you use for each other? _

**…**

**I never would have…**

_ Detective. _

_ I like questioning things. What drives people. Typically solve murders. _

_ What do you do for fun? _

**Plan how to rob rich people. But that shouldn’t be a surprise.**

_ Not really no.  _

_ But besides that. Like right now? What are you doing right now? _

Kaito looked at his gear spread out in front of him. He wasn’t really doing that right now, but he figured Shinichi didn’t mean to ask him about the literal answer to that. He also doubted that they’d be able to have these sort of chats often. Not if he’s using the phone of a man that’s currently away on business. There was nothing to be done about that though. He should have given Conan his number attached to the rose to pass on to Shinichi. Then they’d have a reason to be each other’s contacts.

**Preparing to rob rich people.**

_ The pranks? Or the gear for the trick? _

**Recalibrating the glider. It was sticking the other night when I tried to turning to the right.**

**You’re not going to arrest me are you?**

_ Hardly much of a lover if I did that. _

_ I’ll rush to be an adult though. Married couples aren’t required to give testimony against their spouse. _

**Y-Y- You say the sweetest things.**

_ I’m not likely to survive that long anyways though. I mean - already nearly murdered at the age of sixteen… _

**Google said 17.**

**Did I miss your birthday?**

_ It was a month ago. So not really. _

**Sounds like I missed it still.**

_ I can hear the innocent whistle that followed that statement from here, Kid.  _

_ Don’t you dare. _

**What? Spoil you for your birthday on our first date?**

There wasn’t a reply to that. The only think that kept Kaito from running across Tokyo was the fact that it didn’t mean anything. That it didn’t have to mean anything. Shinichi couldn’t use his phone in public. Not around certain people who could tell that it wasn’t exactly his own phone to use.

That had to be why. It had to be.

 

* * *

 

Shinichi slide the phone under his pillow on the couch as Ran entered. He cursed his luck, but he didn’t curse it deeply. It was bad enough as it was, “I thought you went to bed, Conan.”

He looked at his watch.  _ Shit. Midnight - Past midnight on a school night. _ “I - I had a bad dream. I wanted to sleep on the couch.”

She frowned, but then she nodded, “That light had better stay off then,” She warned, “I can see the dimmed phone light from my room - understood?”

Conan nodded, and he shoved the phone into his pocket when she was gone. He slide away to the bathroom, and he shot off his quick - and delayed - reply.

After all, if your soul mate knows you’re on the run - or rather hiding? - for your life, it really wasn’t the best idea to leave them hanging.

_ Sorry. Ran appeared.  _

_ And just when exactly are we suppose to be having this date, Kaito? _

Kaito’s reply was instantaneous. Shinichi really didn’t know how he’d managed to type it so fast - not two texts anyways.

**At the next heist of course!**

**And thanks for letting me know about  the cause of the delay. That it was Ran.**

The third was a bit later. But not by much.

**Because - yeah - I had worried that you might have died on me.**

_ Good night, KID. _

**Good night, Detective.**


	2. Step 2? Talking.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Step 2 is talking. Because talking means maintaining interest. Talking means open communications. 
> 
> Talking because that's how you get to _flirting_.

**_\- 09:26 AM. -_ **

 

**So. Not expecting reactions**

**or even being read**

**but - I have a terrible habit of texting in class.**

**Well, of texting people that I like anyways.**

**Not people like Hakuba**

**Who - I am fighting off a smirk right now mind you - but - he’s glaring at me right now.**

**I suppose I look like some sort of school girl texting her crush in class.**

**You see. I never thought -**

**Teacher caught me. Accidently hit send before I could reconsider it.**

**And I have.**

**I doubt you need it spelled out.**

**Not as a detective anyways.**

_ Kaito. Focus on class. _

**WHY DO YOU HAVE BOTH PHONES ON YOU IN YOUR CLASS?**

_ FBI. I have a consultant that works with Conan and Shinichi.  _

_ Conan’s constantly talking about Shinichi so - they asked for my number. _

**YOU WORK WITH THE AMERICANS?**

**AND THE JAPANESE POLICE**

**And you’re still not going to arrest me?**

_ You are amusing, KID. Nothing else. _

_ Don’t take it personal. _

**Don’t take it- ?**

**FROM MY SOULMATE? I think I’m allowed to do exactly that.**

_ :D  _

_ ;) _

**are you flirting**

_ I can stop. I believe in complexities when it comes to soulmate relations.  _

_ Aoko had made it sound like you might take it more face value. _

 

 

**_\- 11:42 AM -_ **

 

**Aoko wouldn’t stop kicking my chair.**

**are you saying that you were only flirting then because you thought I wanted you to?**

_. . . _

_ I can stop? _

**I’ve never heard of something more romantic.**

_ No need for the sarcasm. _

**There wasn’t.**

**Do you - Are you not interested in that sort of…**

_ KID - I only think about murder. And I can name three cases that happened because their soulmates didn’t flirt. _

******. . .**

**. . .**

**???**

_ Your soulmate is 8 for the second time in his life _

_ And this is the point that you’re getting hung up on? _

**. . .**

**yes?**

_ If you ever jump out of a plane? I’m not going to be worried. _

_ Your head is light enough - I’m sure the rest of you will float. _

**Oi Oi. Now that’s just rude.**

_ YOU KEEP A GLIDER ATTACHED TO A SUIT. _

_ A WHITE SUIT.  _

_ THAT YOU USE AT MIDNIGHT. _

_ TO ROB RICH PEOPLE. _

**And museums.**

_ … I’m just saying. If you think I’m being serious... _

**:) you really do care then?**

_ … you’re an idiot. _

**Love you too hun.**

_ I HAVE ARTS AND CRAFTS TO DO NOW. _

**lol. K**


	3. Step 3 ... Getting Stood Up?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kaito knew he shouldn't have expected it to be easy connect to Shinichi.
> 
> But this? Just a little bit more ridiculous then even he could ever have rationally expected.

Kaito was standing next to Aoko, and it was only two years of practicing a poker face that kept him from showing how much of a nervous wreck he was on the inside on the outside. Hakuba’s proximity made it a priority. Because with every minute that went by the cause of his anxiety over seeing the small detective at his heist was shifting. As Hakuba talked with the inspector and Aoko, and as Kaito gave him the cold shoulder whenever he tried to accuse Kaito, it was hitting home the cost of making a mistake. 

He was Shinichi Kudo’s soulmate, but it was Conan’s name on his arm, and it was Conan that he’d be seen with. It was a child that he could be caught winking at. It was just a boy that he was carelessly letting himself fall in love with.

Because the pictures he’d saved to his phone were of a teenager that carried his name - and knew why it was that his childhood name  _ was that mark  _ \- and still wanted him in his life. 

Most soul mates had epithets on their skin. Most had wounds from careless handling. The vilest things they’d been called where symbols of hatred from those that knew nothing about them or knew everything and hated them anyways. It was rare for an actual name of any sort to be a mark. 

Yet, they had both marked their match with exactly that. The vilest thing about Shinichi that someone had called him out on was the fact that he’d be careless during a caes. That he’d almost died. That he wasn’t able to be anything but a child now that it had happened. That he couldn’t be honest with those around him. That someone had done that to him. 

Kaito understood. He understood those sorts of remarks even if he didn’t know what Shinichi was doing in response to that, or even how it had happened. Had his case turned supernatural - Like how Akako had turned some of his heists - ? 

“Kaito?” Hakuba snapped his fingers in front of Kaito’s face, and Kaito nearly reacted to having something so close, so immediate, to his face. He did react actually if you counted a glare as such, “Welcome back,” Hakuba smirked, “Thinking about giving up?”

Kaito frowned, but a buzz in his pocket cut off any of his snarky remarks to that as he checked the message. It was from Shinichi.

“Did you exchange numbers?” Aoko asked. She asked that so innocently in front of Hakuba. So innocently. She asked it like it wouldn’t deafen Kaito’s ears with the pulsing of his blood if that detective ever found out who his soul mate was.

“Exchange numbers? Who with?” Hakuba asked, and as the blond’s eyebrows knit themselves together Kaito pinched the bridge of his nose. That would look like embarrassment. It wouldn’t look like frustration at the fact that there was nothing he could reasonably do to stop where this conversation was going.

Most people could only be thrilled to met their soulmate. Most people could only keep it to themselves for a total of ten seconds. Most people were not detectives in hiding or thieves that did not wish to be exactly that.

“Kaito met - well not quite met but - His soul mate! Is it Shinichi?” She asked. It was near enough to a squeal that he was justified in wincing.

Hakuba froze, “Shinichi Kudo?” He asked.

Kaito looked up from his hand, and he stared at Hakuba, “You know him?”

He shook his head slowly, very slowly. It was too slowly, “No. But - his cousin? Conan Edogawa and a friend of theirs… Heiji Hattori. Them I’ve met - but a detective? You’re one true love is a  _ detective? _ ” His voice cracked, “A male detective?”

It could have been me? Was all that Hakuba’s panic kept him from saying, “Oh shove off,” Kaito grumbled, “There was never a snowball’s chance in hell that it was you-” His grin was evil as it widened and he wagged his eyebrows at the other teen, “Unless of course you’re telling me you’re disappointed?”

All terror in his face fled at that, “Never,” Hakuba answered, “But I can’t imagine he’d be all too thrilled either once he finds out who you really are.”

Kaito felt his muscles lock in place, “Could you repeat that?”

“I said - Once he finds out you’re Kaito KID? Expect that even fate itself won’t keep you at-”

Kaito turned and he walked away at that, “I’m not KID,” He shouted back over his shoulder, “But you’re still a dick!”

He left Hakuba behind to deal with Aoko’s screams at him. He wasn’t listening to them. He simply stared at his phone, at the message on it and thought about the package he’d left, hidden away, on the roof. The gift that he’d made Conan. What is the perfect that you get someone for the teenager that’s forced into hiding and pretending that he’s nearly a decade younger then he really is? Kaito wasn’t sure, but he thought he’d answered it with a bit of ingenuity. 

It had taken time away from other projects, and it meant he’d done his homework in the wee hours of the morning afterwards. The result was worth it in his opinion however. He liked to tinker, and he’d modified a gaming console with a cartridge inside that he’d programmed. It wasn’t anything complicated, and it was hardly a wholly original thing, but it held riddles that he had discarded or planned on using in the future. There were blueprints from his previous heists and his thoughts attached to them. Thoughts about problems that might arise during a heist, how he planned his heists, and about how he’d be able to improv escape routes. And - it could only work on the modified console because it had a safety mode so it could shift over to an arcade style fighting game that someone might expect of a boy Conan’s age to play.

It was the closest thing he could give to handing out his head. It was the first answer he’d thought of once he’d heard he’d just barely missed Shinichi’s birthday. It was the present he’d want to get if their shoes were reversed. It could hide in plain sight, and it would challenge his mind. It would provide an escapee from being treated like a child 24/7.

_ There was a homicide on the train. The Inspector knew to expect me. _

_ I already called in. _

_ I’m sorry, Kaito. _

Kaito closed his eyes. He took a deep breath, and he slide his phone in his pocket. He had a performance to get ready for - and this only meant he had an encore to plan for as he needed to get his gift to Conan without anyone noticing. 

He glanced at the time on his watch. It was Showtime, and that was why he didn’t check his phone when it buzzed one final time before he went to steal the Hawk’s Eye.

 

* * *

 

 

Kaito was standing with the gem raised to the sky when the girl on the roof cleared her throat. He didn’t move, and that was enough for her to speak, “He said if I waited up here you’d show.”

She had his full attention, but he couldn’t give her his words. She looked to be the same age as Conan. She was standing with her arms crossed with as much attitude as only a girl that was Shinichi’s actual age could have, “He?” He eventually managed.

She smiled at that. She was enjoying his confusion and suffering, “He said you were safe to trust,” She said, “But I didn’t believe him. I had to drug him.”

His eyes widened at that, “You drugged him?”

She nodded once to admit her guilt - although it didn’t seem that she saw it as such, “He’s snoring right now. Safe. He never told me why he told you the truth though…”

Kaito stepped down from the ledge, and he put the Hawk’s Eye -  _ not pandora  _ \- in his pocket. He loomed over her, “And he told me it was dangerous for anyone to be involved in his affairs right now.”

She stared up at him considering, “You realize you’re trying to intimidate a small child right?”

“The KID killer is hardly any older then you are,  _ child. _ Now, what do you know about us - and why do you think you have the right to  _ drug _ him?”

She smiled, “I see why he thinks you’re safe to trust,” The gentle smile grew a sharp edge to it as her gaze continued to meet his, “But I still don’t see why he started the relationship with you, KID.”

He squinted at her, and he didn’t trust his voice.  _ Relationship. _ It was an innocent word - in other context. She was holding cards, and unlike Ran this child knew that she was holding them. This wasn’t a stage. It was a table, and they were playing poker. If there was one thing that Kaito had, and had belief in, it was that he a damn good face for poker.

“You see. I needed him to stay in to go over files for our current  _ … work. _ But he said he had a prior commitment. That he’d promised to be here,” She stepped closer, and if she thought that she was the one that was more intimidating in their conversation… Kaito would have hesitantly agreed. He knew the hand he had in his hands - and he knew that no matter what she had the better set. Kaito had no idea what she was talking about -  _ But then again. _ She had mentioned working together. 

And Kaito knew it was a case that had turned Shinichi into Conan. 

So there was a reason for that teenage attitude after all, wasn’t there?

He stared at her for a moment longer before making his decision, and then he let a slow dawn of realization flood his face and he sputtered. He was grateful that being able to play poker meant more then a stiff unreadable face, “Wait - so you know why Kudo’s in hiding?”

She paled. She thought she’d said too much, and that was when Kaito knew that road was a two way street. He could trust her after all. She knew, even if Shinichi hadn’t told her about KID. She knew what was happening to Shinichi anyways beside that.

So, Kaito bent down, and held out the small wrapped present, “Young lady,” He whispered, “I was going to give this to our mutual friend. It’s up to him to reveal the nature of our connection - but I swear this to you - I will do whatever it takes to keep him safe. No matter his height at the moment. Or yours. Am I understood?”

“But why?” She whispered, “You don’t even know us. Right?”

“It’s been a week,” Kaito answered without thinking so he hurries to smooth it over with an explanation before the shock of his own words flows over him. Because -  _ it’s only been a week? _ “But that’s long enough to know that he needs help, and I have skills to give.” He smiles, “After all, if two children are on the case then I doubt it’s something that you can get the police involved in, hm?” The weight of his words, of the truths he knew but wasn’t yet willing to face, started to weigh down in his stomach. Still - the show must go on, “And who better to ask then?”

Kaito watched her face for a moment as she put what he’s said together. Eventually, it’s a simple nod, and her hands accept the offered package, “I’ll take this to our mutual friend,” She answered, “And if you never hear from us again - know that I’ve spoken a bit of reason in his ear on that front. Don’t take it personally - it’s just dangerous.”

“Is it more dangerous then stealing?” He asked softly. Then he decided that this girl’s concern over him was flattering, but unnecessary, and he leaned behind her. A gentle hand on her shoulder and together they were both looking in a new direction, “That’s where they’d put the sniper nest,” He whispered in her ear, “My hunters in black-” She stiffened under his fingers, and he took a note of it but he didn’t comment on it. Most froze when told about assassins, “However there is a vent near it, and I have a very slow release capsule of sleeping gas being blown out of it. It’s handled.” He guided her again, and this time he pointed to the window, “There I got to that apartment disguised as an electrician and after I cleared the apartment? I plastered over the window.” He guided her a third time, but this time it was so their eyes would met, “I have criminals of my own on my tail. I have since I started - even before KID’s hiatus.”

“Does he know? Is that why? Because we’re after the same people?”

Kaito frowned, “No,” He answered with the truth, “I am helping him because he asked. Well, he didn’t ask, but I’m not giving him the choice either.”

She nodded, and she looked at the package. The door - and well, at least all the excessive tricks he’d hadn’t gone to waste buying them the time that they had - started to quake with the force being applied to try and knock it down.

“You should go,” She whispered.

“I doubt you should be up here either.”

She smiled at him, “And that’s exactly how I’ll manage to hide again, KID.”

He smirked, and it was a knowing gaze of how correct the child - the teen? Young woman? - was that passed between them in that moment. It was amazing how easy it was to miss things right in front of yours eyes just because you didn’t want to, or expect to, see it. It’s how he’d gotten away from the Nakamoris. Conan from Ran and his typical company. Kaito nodded once before he ran. He ran and he jumped - and then he flew with a thousand thoughts running about in his head.


	4. NUMBER FOUR - OPEN COMMUNICATION

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Because when you break plans - you better have a good reason for it.
> 
> And the best way to know about that - is to talk about it.

_ I DIDN’T SEND THOSE - Haibara is  _

**Well - I wish I’d seen this last message before setting off to work last night.**

_ … sorry. _

_ I’m - not home at the moment though. I have time. No interruptions.  _

_ Want to talk about last night? _

**Yeah. That girl said she drugged you?**

_ … that sounds more ominous then it was. Just my watch. _

**Your watch?**

_ There’s a dart in it - I only slept for like ten minutes. _

_ It was the being tied to a chair that really kept me home. _

**She didn’t mention that bit.**

_ No. I don’t suppose that she would have. _

**This really isn’t something that should be spoken over the phone is it?**

_ No. Perhaps not.  _

_ Not that we haven’t already pushed our luck with our other messages. _

**Yes. Well.**

_ Neither of us have died yet. Or noticed increased activity from them - right? _

**I don’t really see much activity from them in general.**

_ And they won’t consider the thought of not fucking around with my life.  _

_ So if they haven’t come after me yet?  _

_ We’re safe. _

**Reassuring.**

_ I’m going to text you an address. Come as Shinichi Kudo - if you can do Ran you can do me. I’ll meet you there. _

**I doubt I’ll need as much prep to manage your face.**

_? _

_ Oh yes. We do look a lot a like naturally don’t we? _

**… and I might have saved your photo to my phone.**

**You have a lot of news articles with your profile online.**

_ Well that just makes this easier for us then doesn’t it? _


	5. Step Five is ... Step four all over again?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Because sometimes - open communication requires more then what you've already covered in texts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> disclaimer...?
> 
> Shinichi. He just thinks about murders and how to solve them. This chapter features an ace talking with his allo soulmate about what that means for them - without ever once using any of the common lingo of the Ace community. And for the ace community I know that can be a trigger?
> 
> links are in fact provided below for all those that were hoping for ace info after reading the tags - or after reading this chapter - or even after reading this note? 
> 
> and really i don't know how to a/n - so maybe it didn't need a trigger warning? But... better safe then sorry.
> 
> i still believe that this is still a very healthy representation. Because this is what happens when you grow up with allos and no aces and you realize that your soulmate... Might expect more from you then you can give them. 
> 
> Most of the time I'd also warn that this is unbetaed. I mean. It still is. But this one came from a really personal spot and I edited it as such to the best of my abilities. Which props still not enough... orz

Conan was sitting in the gateway of Professor Agasa’s house. He had given him the Kudo address, but it hadn’t mattered which the thief got. They wouldn’t be staying for long. His gaze lingered over the gate to his childhood home, and not for the first time he’d wondered what it would have been like to find Kaito - to find out that he was KID - without having his own disguise. 

“You know if you’d wanted to be the one to plan the date you could have just asked?” Shinichi jumped at the voice behind him. He couldn’t sure if it was the sudden attention breaking through his thoughts or the sound of his own voice leaning down into his ear, but either way he can’t stop the shiver that decided to run down his spine as he turned around to see his own face staring down at him.

He also can’t stop his blood from it’s decision to run from his face, or stop the way his hands started to shake. Shinichi’s - Kaito’s -  _ Conan is Shinichi -  _ eyes widened, “Hey- Hey- Kudo? You alright?” There’s a tremor in the teens voice and it’s Kaito’s voice that softly made its way to him.

It’s a slow nod. The reaction was embarrassing, but even after a year of shrinking to a size that isn’t his own he has dreams that it’s all a lie. That he’s always been Conan, and that Shinichi is really his cousin off on a case in the States and every other country his subconsciousness believes would reenforce the fact that Shinichi has a very good reason for being away for as long as he has. 

They’re always so real. So real that when he wakes he has to check both phones. That he messages Ai asking her about the weather in one text and Hattori in another to complain about how unfair it is that he has to relearn his multiplication tables. That he has to stare at his soulmark because with such an odd name on skin there is no chance in hell that he’s wearing a duplicate. It’s always Kaito - or rather the mark that Kaito has on him - that grounds him back to earth.

And it’s Kaito’s voice that sent those fears back into the abyss of his mind where they belong.

“Well,” Shinichi whispered, “Fooled me. Must have been a good use of time. Staring at my face that is.”

Kaito raised an eyebrow at that, “Do you think that’s why I downloaded it?”

It was that tone. The same tone Ran always gave Shinichi when he’d done something thick. Said something that could be taken more ways then he’d thought for his innocent comment could mean. It was the tone that she used when he revealed that all he ever thought about was murder and not her. Because once upon a  time neither of them had had soul marks, and to her that was enough to allow him into her heart. 

And the way she looked at him as he solved a case? It was more then enough for him to do the same. He let her in, and he trusted her. He wanted to know her mind even though he knew she had her flaws. She shared. She shared her thoughts so easily, and she blushed too easily to ask of him what she wanted. It had - in the most dictionary definition - worked. 

The one mark on his thigh had changed it all.  _ Bakaito  _ had changed everything between them. It was love that she wanted because she couldn’t take it from him unless she got everything. 

A fact that never would have been true no matter what. Not with that tone. The one that said that she wanted him to think of her in the same terms she did.

Shinichi didn’t feel his heart shatter when Kaito used it with him, but as he fumbled there was one thought. One solid thought that raced through his head -  _ broken. _ If his soulmate still expected it of him - the man that completed him the most wanted him to gaze and desire something that was beyond his use of words -

Then he was broken after all, and it didn’t matter what Ran thought of marks - that they brought lovers together. Or what his mother believed - that soul mates are simply the ones that make the best of their partner. It was wrong because no matter what happened from this relationship with Kaito - it was now as clear as a clean pressed fingerprint on a window that Kaito thought of Shinichi in the same terms as Ran had. That he was an object of physical desire.

And Shinichi had never thought about that. He’d never gone out of his way to think that about Kaito. His soul mate - his complexion - was found - and still he couldn’t just long for - 

_ Broken. _

“Co- Ku- Are you okay?” Kaito whispered.

Shinichi glanced at the lab. Haibara was there. She wanted answers about KID. Professor Agasa was there. He would see Shinichi, and he would just know. He was the one that he went to when his own parents were there to explain the world, and this subject left him so vulnerable. He had only given it to the one that had always been there for him.

And there was no way he could keep this from Kaito. There was no reason he should. This was his defect that they’d both have to deal with. The only danger was to Shinichi’s heart as he watched someone that he did love close off a part of their heart from him yet again, and it would be more of a danger if he kept it from Kaito.

“In private,” He whispered before he pulled out his phone -  _ Shinichi’s phone -  _ and lifted his bowtie to his mouth before pulling up Okiya’s - Akai’s - information and dialing. 

“Hello.” Okiya purred into the phone as if he didn’t have Shinichi’s memorized - because it was not one he’d programed into his phone.

“I have a lead. Skittish. Do you think I could-”

“How long?”

“Two hours. Most likely less.” He doubted that Kaito would stay with him past the hour once he knew.

“Consider it done. I’ll redial this number once I’m clear so you know.”

“Thank you.” Then he hung up, and he put his phone up in his right back pocket. Left had Conan’s at the moment, and his front pocket had - 

Shinichi’s hands gripped the gaming console in the one front pocket that mattered. The first thing that he’d gotten that had enabled him to forget about being Conan - 

He could fear later what this would do to him. It wasn’t about him. It was about how his brokenness was going to be the matter that ruined Kaito’s life because his mother was wrong, and Ran was right. That was the one thing that mattered most to soulmates -

And he just wanted to matter to Kaito. His heart had fluttered once he’d unlocked the hidden programs of Kaito’s gift. It was a distraction. He was able to feel like himself while working through Kaito’s heist notes. He was able to smile at the level of trust this displayed - because this was evidence, wasn’t it? These notes could be used to extract a level of detail about KID that would make capturing him so much easier in the future. He had wanted to hold Kaito’s hand while flipping through the notes because they were such a viseral display of his mind. 

Shinichi had been floored by the investment of time that Kaito must have spent to make something like it. He had blushed when he’d realized the level of his transparency -  _ because this was something that he had needed in his life _ \- for Kaito to have decided that - Yes. This is the sort of present that’s my soul mate’s sort of present.

Ran would have bought chocolates. Sonoko would have done flowers for her love. Hattori would have bought Kazuha a slice of cake from the bakeries that made them up as pieces of art.

All pointless gifts in Shinichi’s opinion. Beautiful. Fleeting. They promised love by presence. He clung to the hope his love would seek to engage with him.

And this single gift had brought tears in confirmation to that.

_ And now - _

Kaito was watching Shinichi carefully. It must have seemed like an overreaction. After all, Kaito had simply told him that he couldn’t resist looking at Shinichi - as he was suppose to do as a lover. 

Shinichi didn’t say anything. Instead, ‘Conan’ simply pulled ‘Shinichi’ through the gateway of Agasa’s property as he waited for Akai’s confirmation.

“Are you straight?” Kaito’s voice cracked, “Is that why-” His voice broke too much to finish, and there was no reason to try again. His question - and it’s meaning - had been clear as crystal.

If there was a word for disinterest in the subject - then Shinichi didn’t know. It hadn’t mattered. He hadn’t looked into it, but in the face of that question and Kaito’s fearful tone. He knew his answer - the truth - would only be worse.

And it would prevail. The truth always did. Even if Shinichi tried to hide it, eventually he would tire of acting and Kaito would see it in his face - 

_ And he’d know. _ He would know without a doubt that Shinichi couldn’t give him the depth of love he had for Shinichi.

His phone buzzed, and he checked to verify that it was a missed call and not a message. The Kudo Estate was clear. They could enter without interruption.

“No,” He answered tentatively, “Well. It’s nothing like that anyways. Just - I - We need to talk about it in private, yeah? If that’s okay?”

Kaito frowned, but he nodded. Shinichi took that as a win. 

He wasn’t considering that he’d many more those.

 

* * *

 

_ Nothing like that. _ \- that’s what Shinichi had told Kaito before leading them inside of the neighbor’s house in silence, “Tea?” Shinichi asked.

“Should you be offering me the neighbor’s tea?”

“This is where I grew up - the first time. It’s my home.” Shinichi’s voice tore at Kait’s heart, and he flinched at how … 

There didn’t seem to be a word for Kaito to find, but if he didn’t know better he’d say that he’d broken his soul mate. He’d broken Shinichi Kudo - who had walked away from a near death experience only bitter over the fact that it had left him as a literal child. Not worried about his skills as a detective. Shinichi hadn’t come away worried about continuing the case. 

He was stronger now because of whatever had nearly killed him. Shinichi wasn’t the sort to break.

Yet - Kaito had managed that with a careless question, a few flustered words, and he didn’t know how that had even been possible. He knew what words he’d used, but he didn’t know what he’d said that could cause such a reaction in his love.

“Tea sounds good then,” Kaito whispered, “It seems we’ll have lot of somethings to talk about after all…”

“Or just one,” Shinichi grumbled before vanishing away from the entryway and leaving Kaito alone to try and struggle with figuring out just what he’d done wrong in the first place. It’s that thought that keeps him pinned and wrestling in the entryway, and after a few minutes causes Shinichi to peak his head back around a corner with a lifted eyebrow, “Are you just going to stand there?” He asked with a tone that sounded like every esperated one he’d ever given KID.

Kaito smiled at that, and his darker thoughts were chased away by the hope that the damage wasn’t too deep - whatever it was. As Shinichi vanished back in the way he’d taken to go make tea Kaito was left with a decision, and this time Kaito followed after him.

“So,” Kaito started as a slow pur that matched Shinichi’s slow pour, “Not straight then-”

“Just sit down and drink the damn tea while I figure out how to say this,” Shinichi said without a bite of venom to his tone. There was only a solid click as the offered mug hit the counter in front of the chair nearest Kaito.

Kaito swallowed, and he nodded. He sat and he started to slowly drink. Black tea was a surprise, but - But it wasn’t unpleasant. He continued to drink it without comment. He watched Shinichi struggle about with a footstool while getting his own mug of the stuff. Kaito figured it wiser not to comment. Sometimes space was the only thing you could give someone struggling because the rest of the world was crashing in around them. He did wish he could hold up a clear umbrella over Shinichi’s head, point, and ask what was falling down on them. 

But, space was what Shinichi asked of him, and there wasn’t enough cause for him to push for an answer. It would only go to show Shinichi that he wasn’t actually the child of the two of them. That Kaito couldn’t behave better then antsy child that was being denied a toy - a candy - a sweet -  _ what he wanted -  _ and that he wouldn’t know well enough to keep his hands to himself after being told that behaving was the only way to get that.

So he sat there, and he watched as Shinichi sat across from him at the island in the middle of the Kudo kitchen. He watched and he waited in silence as Shinichi stared into his mug.

“It catches me off guard,” Shinichi finally whispered, “That people look at people just because they like doing that. It catches me off guard because I don’t think like that. I - I wasn’t lying when I said that I only think of murders.”

Kaito started to laugh. It was a broken relief and not at all any sort of humor pushed it out from between his lips, but the muted horror growing on Shinichi’s face made it clear that the sound alone wasn’t enough to clarify that, “I thought you were going to tell me that wasn’t - I mean. You took the flower - So I presumed - I mean,” He finally took a breath and he wiped at the moisture in his eyes. His face was finally under his control again, but he didn’t bother trying to hid his pain, the panic that had been swelling under his skin, “I’m glad you’re not straight after all?”

“I just said-” Shinichi closed his mouth, and he stared at Kaito. Kaito resisted the urge to check for a second head, “You’re okay with that?”

Kaito raised an eyebrow, “You’re not repulsed by my actions-”

“I’m never going to look at you that way! I’ve just told you that I’ll - That I can never…” Shinichi’s sentence faded off as he searched Kaito’s eyes. It took a moment of wild wondering, but then it clicked what Shinichi was trying to find. He was looking for the rejection that he knew Kaito must have at a statement like that.

“Did you have another lover?” Kaito asked softly, “Before the mark? When you told them about this did they…?” _Break you?_ _Reject you?_ Kaito couldn’t finish. He couldn’t air the words he thought out of fear that he’d be giving Shinichi a weapon to use against himself.

Shinichi looked away, and for a moment Kaito didn’t think he’d answer. Then it was so soft that he barely heard it anyways. “Ran.”

And then Shinichi continued to explain, never once looking up from his mug and meting Kaito’s eyes, “We grew up together, and I - My dad writes detective stories. Name’s Conan for a reason. Sherlock Holmes is my hero. He was the super hero that I looked up to when I was actually this age - and it was a constant game between me and dad. We would go over case notes and we would deduce. 

“Most kids. Well, they did what most kids did in the face something different. They laughed. They mocked. I wasn’t an easy child. I knew I was smarter then them, but Ran was different. She was different from them. She saw and she whispered  _ ‘Brilliant’ _ in the face of it. I never wanted her to leave my side. She never wanted to either.

“But then we were less children and still further from being adults. She started making comments that went of my head. I didn’t understand them. Her friend Sonoko would snicker at that. She’d tell me I was a child for not getting it. That the great detective was still such an idiot. Ironically it softened her up around me - knowing that I wasn’t perfect. When I asked my mother about what Ran had said? She explained what the concept of flirting was. I kept pretending to Ran that I didn’t understand. I never flirted back. Never intentionally. 

“She would eventually go on to holding my hand, and she’d try to kiss my cheek. I would always get distracted. I would never let it happen because I knew she would want it returned. It was never spoken about. She was too shy, and I was too scared. She wanted me to date her because she knew I wanted her, and she thought that meant the movies. She wanted everything that comes from having a soul mate. My adoration for her and for the acceptance she gave me was, in her eyes, more then proof enough that we were soul mates without the marks to prove it.

“Then you’re mark appeared on my thigh, and I told her. It was never the same, and knowing that I wasn’t the one turned her vicious. She no longer had to be shy around me. She never said anything outright, but - I’m a detective. She knows that. I can deduce her meanings when she tells me that she worries her soul mate won’t love her as much as she’ll love them. She’s already been afraid of them - saw it in a movie is her claim when I asked her to expand on the thought.

“Not lusting after her? Would have ruined our relationship, Kaito. So yes. Someone else broke me. Your words terrified me. Happy now?”

“No,” Kaito whispered, “I could never be happy that she hurt you so deeply.”

Shinichi nearly fell from his seat - he really shouldn’t have been sitting on the island -  _ and really why hadn’t Kaito noticed that he was doing that sooner -  _ as he flew around to met Kaito’s gaze with his own, “What- What? You’re not offended-”

“Are you bothered with me looking at you?” Kaito asked.

Shinichi shook his head.

“Once you’re no longer illegal to kiss in public are you going to push me away if I try to steal a kiss on your cheek? Or even - _ since you’ve already proposed to me  _ \- the lips?”

Once more, Shinichi shook his head, “No. I just - I’ve never -  _ thought _ about that. I don’t - I don’t feel any attraction to that sort of expression? I guess is the best way to say what I’m trying to say?”

Kaito nodded once, and he hoped he looked like a sage while doing it, “Then. If you’re not bothered with how I want to express the fact that I think you’re the most important person in my life - why should I be bothered with how you choose to do the same?” Kaito met his eyes, and his gaze was level and dry. He hoped he wasn’t going to be an ass by trying to pull some levity into this far, far too serious for his liking conversation with how he was about to do so, “Unless you’re trying to break it to me that I am not that to you/’

Shinichi sputtered and he flailed, and once more Kaito found himself wondering how it was that the small form of a teenager managed to stay on the kitchen’s island, “No. I never-”

“Okay then,” Kaito cut him off, “Then I think this is a moot point.” Shinichi opened his mouth to argue, and Kaito raised his hand stopping him before he could ever start, “Not to say that I don’t appreciate having this conversation. Because I do, Shinichi. It took a lot of bravery, and I absolutely see why you were in a panic earlier.” Shinichi set down his mug, and Kaito reached out for his hand. Shinichi didn’t pull away from, and he held his love tight anyways, “But - You hold all my secrets even if you don’t know their reasons. I’m literally trusting you with my life - and you’ve made it clear that I’m in the same position with you.

“Your thigh has my hated name - and I didn’t even know what it was. You’re the one that explained to me why it was even there. You, Shinichi Kudo, complete me, and if you think some small thing like this - Because what is it if not small compared to everything else - is going to tear us apart? I believe you are sorely mistaken.

“The vilest thing about me is that I have destroyed any sort of chance at forgiveness from  _ my  _ first crush. The vilest thing is literally printed on your leg for you to carry for the rest of your life. And you think - not physically wanted me is going to - what? Make me disgusted with you? Turn you away?  _ Refuse you _ ?”

Shinichi had the decency to look away.

They sat in silence as Kaito silently huffed at Shinichi’s foolishness and his own for being so frustrated with his man. Shinichi really had been brave and had more then enough reason to be scared of Kaito’s reaction to that news. He knew girls that would have reacted the exact same way Shinichi had feared. Kaito was only mad because Shinichi had presumed the same pettiness from him, “I’m really bad at this relationship stuff, aren’t I?” Shinichi whispered.

“No,” Kaito answered, “We both are.”

And with that Shinichi smiled. It was shy and delicate like sugar work - ready to melt under even the barest rain - but it was there. Kaito smiled back with a slightly raised eyebrow and far more amusement then the situation warrant, “So. About that child I met last night. You know, the one that shot you with your own watch - Care to explain that story to me now?”

Shinichi snorted, “Miracles if I can actually manage to do that,” He muttered, “But I’ll sure as hell try.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those curious about Asexuality or the community around it....
> 
> https://www.asexuality.org/ - AVEN is composed of a website/wiki/forum.  
> http://theasexual.com - The Asexual is a journal with the tagline of being by Aces for Aces.
> 
> And I respectfully ask that any personal questions that you might have be directed to my tumblr - http://hisfoolishdaughter.tumblr.com
> 
> Also. I have a fierce maternal streak so if I so much as sniff Ace hate - I am going to delete the comment. I've seen how it can get on Twitter - even from other members of the LGBT community and I'm not going to deal with it here. orz


	6. #6? Letting Shinichi have a Step in the Dance and Being a Comfort

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes you hear something you never expected.
> 
> Sometimes you just can't be alone with the news. 
> 
> Not with someone that can't understand it. And if you can't go to your soulmate? Who can you go to?

_ I never did tell you thank you for the birthday present. _

_ Thank you. It’s perfect. _

**I knew it was either going to be that or an insult flaunting my crime paving ways.**

**Although - after hearing your story**

**seems you don’t care much for the fine lines of the law.**

_ What does that mean? _

**I’m pretty sure those agents should ya know - be maybe - I don’t know**

**Working with the local law enforcement rather then acting all gung ho like they own the place - you know what never mind. They’re Americans. We can’t expect better from them.**

**But I mean you’re letting them**

_ … and just what am I suppose to do about them?  _

**lol. Nothing ‘course. But all the other teen detectives I know would have been like - But But You’re not allowed here!**

_ … Know many do you? _

**Just one other actually. Hakuba Saguru.**

_ oh. _

**oh**

_ Oh? Why did you oh? _

_ Kaito. _

_ Aoko better be kicking that chair again. _

**IT’S A SUNDAY.**

_ And now you’ve just confirmed your lack of an excuse for your continued silence. _

_ Unless of course you’re in danger? _

**He knows who my soul mate is. Aoko was chatting about it during the heist.**

_ Oh _

**Oh indeed.**

_ Am i comprimised then? _

**I’ve always plastered over my arm.**

**Can’t have anything compromising my ID.**

_ And Aoko knew about your mark to begin with anyways? _

**My back is a different story. Did have to tell her - ask her if she hated being called boy.**

**But they - as she pointed out - were only vague affirmations. Ya know - the typical sort of soul mark.**

_ Oh. good. _

_ Was it weird finding out you’d be soul mated to a boy? _

**I mean, age gaps are weirder.**

**Especially when you actually met them**

**but no.**

**Was it for you?**

_ My mom didn’t marry hers. so no? I don’t think it was. _

**Really? Don’t soulmates normally stay together?**

_ They had already married before meeting each other. _

_ She didn’t say more - but I think there was something else involved? _

**Do you know who it was?**

_ A magician? He taught her stuff for her job - costuming and masks… _

_ Let me txt her real quick _

**She’ll just tell you?**

_ Yeah. He was her best friend - and dad’s.  _

_ Met him once when I was really little. A real family friend. _

**Oh. That seems weird though - Was our dad jealous?**

_ She just got back to me - Touichi Kuroba. _

_ And nah, as I said. Touichi was married and in love with someone that didn’t carry his mark either. They didn’t think the marks met anything romantic between ‘em. _

**That’s my dad.**

**Shinichi. That’s my dad**

_ What? _

**What was the mark? What name did my dad give your mom?**

_ She won’t text it to me. _

_ I’m going to call her really quick. _

_ KID. But - It showed up far, far after his first performance as such. _

_ Long after he was called that. _

_ She told me what you did - She told me about Pandora and everything that your dad told her about your men in black. _

_ She also told me more then that Kaito. _

_ She told me why being KID turned so hard on him after that. _

_ I don’t know if you want to hear. But - It was because he knew he was putting you in danger. _

**thank you.**

_ Do you want to come over? _

**Aoko. Plans already for dinner.**

_ What about after? _

**Shinichi?**

_ I mean. If you don’t want to be alone that is. You can come over.  _

**I’d like that.**

**But I’m almost tired of the fact that I’m constantly leaving you.**

**Shit- I meant to delete that! Not hit send!**

_ … I feel the same though for what it’s worth. _

**You’re just saying that because we’re marked.**

_ Kaito. You make me feel like there’s something that I’m surviving for - more then just for seeing my would be murderers brought to justice. _

**oh.**

**Really?**

_ Yeah. Ya idiot. _

**I’ll be back over then. After dinner.**

**I don’t know what I’ll tell Aoko if she tries to get me to stay over again.**

**But I won’t stay away.**

_ We need to met at a heist. _

_ Then Conan can have an excuse to come over to you. _

_ To be seen with Kaito as well as with KID. _

**We’ll work that out, Shinichi. Think you can get Sonoko’s old man to bait KID out again?**

_ … maybe. just maybe? _

_ Yes. Actually. Yes, Kaito. _

_ I can make that happen. _


	7. being there for each other and stealing their moments when they come

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes friends are the ones that can make you feel the worst. Sometimes there's someone that knows how to make you feel better.
> 
> Sometimes your very lucky and you go to them first and they know what to say to do that.

Kaito shoved his phone into his pocket before standing up and sighing. 

It wasn’t that he didn’t enjoy spending time with Aoko, but the world around him was re enforcing the weight the friendship was to him. The fact that he couldn’t be honest with her-

One step at a time was all he had to cling to, and his father’s persistent advice - Always keep your poker face. So, he took one step, and then he kept taking them to get to Aoko’s door. He never noticed how his phone was in his front pocket and how his hands were tucked in them as well. He didn’t notice the death grip he had on the phone as he awaited his chance to leave to met up with the man that he was currently in the process of falling in love with -

A man that thought Kaito would refuse him because he didn’t speak affection in the same way he did. A detective who hadn’t refused him out right for flaunting and violating the law that Shinichi protected. Kaito hadn’t known who was involved in the clocktower heist he’d performed for Aoko, but Google had. As such the detective was lying about how he viewed KID so they could be together -

He took a deep breath as he stood in front of a house that might as well have been his own after their childhood together, and then he let it out and with that he took the door handle of Aoko’s house and he entered.

He wasn’t expecting to see Hakuba standing in the entryway taking off his own shoes, and that was his reason for slamming the door shut and walking away.

He wasn’t listening to Aoko’s screaming after his escape, but the mop to the back of his head was able to stun him. It infuriated him, and he nearly started screaming as he turned around to look at his assailant, “Ahoko!” Hakuba was standing next to her, and it hurt to see her hand around him.

It hurt that it hurt. He had a soul mate - 

Kaito wagged a finger at the couple, “You’re the one that invited him! What did you think would-”

“Bakaito!” She snapped. Why call him an idiot when it had long since been her name for him? He rolled his eyes at her. “He’s here to apologize to you!”

If he hadn’t been reeling from hearing that his father had marked someone else’s mother, or that Shinichi had known his father. If Kaito hadn’t been trying to process that he wanted to be held by a man he’d known for barely a week. If he hadn’t had the weight that their moments were bliss but stolen and required to hid from the world - Maybe he wouldn’t have been careless. Maybe he wouldn’t have been too tired and numbed to have noticed that his poker face was slipping.

“Why should he be apologizing to me? It’s Shinichi he’s insulted.”

His words were out of his mouth hole before he could let them be processed by his brain, and he paled as he realized that they had been - a moment too late.

“Where is he?” Hakuba asked. His voice level. His request was reasonable. And Kaito hated him for it, “If you think-”

Aoko squeezed him close, interrupted, “I told you - he’s away on a case.”

“Oh yeah,” Hakuba whispered. Into her throat.

“I’m leaving.”

“I’m sorry,” Hakuba called after him, “But - I mean. If he’s away on a case. How do you know he’s actually-”

“Just because Aoko’s mark says she’s suppose to partner up with a prick doesn’t mean you have to keep living up to expectations!” Kaito called back.

“Prick,” Aoko grumbled as Kaito closed the gate behind him and left the two behind.

He pulled his phone out and he started messaging Shinichi.

**I’m gonna be over there sooner rather then later…**

His finger hovered over the send button. His feet kept him moving closer to Shinichi and the house he’d just left his soul mate behind in. 

Aoko - Aoko was the same to him as Ran was to Shinichi. Inseparable and longing for the other until their soul marks appeared. Aoko however had been the first to get hers, and Kaito had had years to get use to the idea that they’d always have a permanent wedge between them. Even before Kaito Kid.

And really he shouldn’t be taking that out on Hakuba. That there had ended up being too many gaps between them for Kaito’s comfort. It wouldn’t be a surprise if that behavior was what made Hakuba so suspicious of him even after the years that Kaito’s had to set up alibi after alibi.

Kaito dialed Shinichi’s number, and he picked up a moment later, “Kaito? What’s wrong?”

“Just stressed.”

“That’s not a good reason to call this number. This isn’t an impulsive ring.”

“You’re right. It’s not. I just. I just needed to hear your voice though.”

Shinichi snorted, “Well,” He mumbled, “This hardly seems like it.” Too young was what he meant. It was too young to actually be his voice.

“You’re not just settling are you?” Kaito asked. He stopped, and his grip around the phone tightened, “I mean. I know in my head that you were marked first. That Conan has nothing to do with us being soul mates, but - what if whatever causes them knew that you’d be Conan. Knew that that was why we’d be matches made in heaven? Because no one else could understand what it felt like to lie to our loved ones - to wear masks so tight we feel our own faces changing to match them? What if-”

“Kaito,” Shinichi sharp voice interrupted, “What brought this up?”

“What if -” Kaito’s brain caught up to the question and he sputtered out. His steps stopped at the entrance to the train station and his words caught in his throat. He trailed to an alleyway as his mouth tried to find an answer, “I just - People don’t stay around me. They don’t stick around me for me. And - and they would never if they knew the truth.”

“I have,” Shinichi whispered. Their own conversation about Shinichi’s insecurities came back, and they ate away at Kaito as he realized his were so much more… He didn’t know. He could choose to stop being Kid. He was the one driving the wedge between himself and the people that he wanted in his life. 

“Sorry,” Kaito whispered in the phone, “I didn’t mean-”

“No,” Shinichi hissed, “Don’t. You’re right to worry about this.”

“Am I? I did this to me. It’s not like -”

“Why?” Shinichi’s voice was still hard and cutting and it was hard to remember that this was the mouth of an eight year old boy scolding him, “Kaito  _ Kuroba _ . Why did you do this to yourself? Why are you KID?”

Shinichi already knew. They’d traded stories even if Kaito hadn’t named his dad at that time. Kaito took a deep breath and he leaned on the wall behind him as the weight lifted from his shoulders.

“Because I needed to find my dad’s killers. Because by wearing that suit I can distract some very evil men from actually trying to find immortality - and maybe if there really is magic and there really is a stone with immortality… I can keep them from finding it first.”

“Then why do you think a homicide detective would be ashamed of dating you? It’s a sting operation. There’s nothing -  _ absolutely nothing _ \- to be ashamed of.”

“It’s hard to remember that.”

“I know. I know, Kaito.”

“God, I think I might love you, Shinichi.”

“Kaito.”

“I’m still coming over.”

“Good. Haibara and the other little detectives have dragged the professor out camping for the night. We’ll have the house.”

“Any dinner plans yet?”

“I was going to cook some rice. Nothing fancy. I take it that you left Aoko’s before eating now though?”

“Yeah. Do you want me to bring something or-?”

“I don’t know what the professor has,” Shinichi admitted.

“I’ll bring something then.”

“Thanks.”

“Figure out the rest of the plans when I get there?”

“I figured curl up on the couch and watch something?”

“Really?”

“We have some privacy tonight. We can do what we want and not worry.”

“I thought you said you weren’t interested in…”

Shinichi’s laugh was a wisp, and Kaito’s heart wished he could have seen the face that paired with it, “I said I only think of murder. Doesn’t mean I can’t be distracted - and do you know the number of cases I’ve been on where a soul mate was-”

“Not romantic,” Kaito interrupted the joke with a smile, “Thanks.”

“I mean. If my age is why you’re -”

“Shinichi,” Kaito interrupted, “I have food to pick up and a date to met up with. A date that I never thought might actually manage to happen.”

“It’s reckless. Make sure you’re not-”

“It’s you with the tails on your civilian ID,” Kaito smirked, “Not me. Some of us know how to separate work from the rest of our life.”

Shinichi laughed, “See you soon then. But still -”

“Yes yes,” Kaito moaned with a smile still on his lips, “I’ll make sure I’m seen breaking into a residential house.”

“I know you normally like an audience.”

“Oh shush.”

“See you soon, love.”

“Y-yeah. Seen you soon, Shinichi. Love you too.”


	8. Step Eight? Pillow Talk. (More of Shinichi's Step though -  surprisingly enough - who knew it took two for a healthy relationship??)

Kaito’s fingers shuffled through Conan’s hair. It was weird to think the tiny bundle in his arms as matching his age inside. Or at least that’s what he’d say if Shinichi never opened his mouth.

“Did you know why perfluorocarbon is used for torture and not as like - a destination attraction?”

“What?”

“Perfluorocarbon?”

“Don’t know it.”

“It’s a liquid that humans can breath.”

“That’s weird. And we use it for torture? Not to feel like mermaids?”

“I mean - I was just thinking of being like fish or something like that- but merfolk work better. Kids would be all for that.”

“I’d be all for that.”

“See - What I just said. Kids.”

Kaito blew a raspberry into Shinichi’s hair. He felt his soulmate tense, “Did I make you feel uncomfortable- I mean I know you said-”

“No,” Shinichi insisted, “No. It’s fine. I just wasn’t expecting it.”

Kaito’s mouth opened for a moment as he struggled to find the right words to break the awkward silence that was forming between them, “Will you?” He settled on. 

Shinichi stilled, but he didn’t try to pull away or face Kaito, “I don’t know.”

“So you’ve never…”

“Been with someone?” Shinichi asked. His voice a level thing, fully uncontrol and sent a tremor through Kaito as he realized that he’d perhaps hadn’t worded it the best, “Believe it or not-”

Shinichi didn’t finish, and Kaito loosened his grip on Shinichi as they laid in his bed. Shinichi turned around and their eyes met, “I’m sorry,” He whispered, “You’re just trying to know - me. How this will work.”

Kaito peered, and he peered into the ocean of Shinichi peering up at him through a face a decade too young, “I just want to know you,” He whispered, “I just want you in every way that I can have you.”

“People aren’t interested in people that don’t return affection,” He whispered, “I’ve never been in a relationship before. Not anything other then a friendship that is.”

“Because you’re not interested in more then that?”

That shattered the seas as Shinichi’s eyes searched his own, “No,” He whispered, “That isn’t it.”

“Then help me, Shinichi. Tell me. Tell me what you mean,” He put his hand on Shinichi’s face, cupped his cheek and rubbed at the cheek bone that should have been a cutting edge if the newspaper photos were to believed.

“I mean,” Shinichi looked down, at Kaito’s chest, then he slowly reached out and rested his hand over Kaito’s heart, “I mean, I want you near me. I want to hold you, but only because I know you. Only because you want to hold me. I only know to want that because of you. So, because no one’s ever wanted me - I’ve never wanted them.” He tapped on Kaito’s chest, “But I think I’d have wanted you - in a way that’s more then I should - if the marks had never told us we’d love each other.”

“But I thought-”

“I just don’t want sex, Kaito. I just - It’s not something I think about,” Shinichi’s eyes met Kaito’s own once more, “I’m sorry,” He whispered.

“For what?”

“For not being-”

“Enough?” Kaito smirked. He leaned closer, and he kissed Shinichi on the corner of his lips, “You’re more then that.”

“I’d have wanted to chase KID. I would have become obsessed with finding the man that refused to keep the gems that he fought so hard to steal away. I would have noticed the men in the shadows haunting you as they haunt me. I would never have known why I’d be so given over to protecting you - the moonlight magician that haunts my life under full moons - but I’d have done so. I may never want to simply touch you, like right now, but I would have wanted your mind. Every bit of it. That’s what I mean. That’s what I fall in love with. Just like any romance novel.”

“You just don’t think of turning the romance into… something more?”

Shinichi nodded, “I know. I’m broken-”

“You’re not,” Kaito wouldn’t have stopped his voice from breaking if he’d known that it would do so beforehand, “Please, please, Shinichi, just stop saying that about yourself.”

Shinichi put his own hand on Kaito’s, and after a moment, “Okay. Okay, I’ll stop then.”

Kaito smiled, a small little thing that he’d never have had on his face for poker, “Thank you.”

“Why,” Shinichi asked, “Why does it matter so much to you?”

“Because I love you,” Kaito whispered, “Every bit of you, every inch, and I don’t want you think it’s something that you should hid away from. I don’t think you’re broken. I don’t understand, not quite, but I don’t think you’re broken. I don’t like fish. I’m Japanese. I don’t think I’m broken though. I just think - I don’t like fish.”

“And I just don’t like sex?” Shinichi asked with a raised eyebrow, “I haven’t had it. How would I know?”

“You’re not having it now either,” Kaito instantly answered, “Not looking like a child.”

“Oi. Oi.”

Kaito smirked, and he leaned in closer, “I know you think of it, the kissing and the more then that. But is it okay if I-”

Shinichi met his lips with his own, and they were easily distracted from the rest of that thought. At least for a moment. Shinichi pulled back when they needed to breath again, “Kaito. I don’t know how this would have worked without being soulmates, without you having my mark,” Shinichi’s hand brushed over that mark of Conan on Kaito’s forearm, “But, I trust you completely now, and I know you won’t ask of me more then that. I know you want me even if I don’t want you like that - just because I simply can’t think of you like  _ that _ . But, you still want me here-”

“In my bed,” Kaito clarified.

“Mine techincally.”

“Sure you’re a detective and not a lawyer?” Kaito asked with a humored lift of his eyebrow.

Shinichi rolled his eyes and that was answer enough, “You want me here, and I want you. I just want you - the life that entrances crowds in the night, and cries over a phone call and thinks that people would pay to survive drowning just so they can fell like a merperson even though, apparently, you hate fish. I want that, and I always want to be able to see that. I want to know that. I want to be able to give every corner of myself in response, and if that means you want to - one day apparently when I look like I match your age again - see my dick. Then I’ll show that. 

“Does that make sense? I want to romance you, Kaito, and I want to want you…”

Kaito smirked, “My dick just isn’t a part of the me that you want.”

“I’m sure it’s a fine dick,” Shinichi rolled his eyes, “But yes. I just don’t think of you and then go - I wanna eat that. Or think about putting it up my butthole or-”

“Agh. You’re taking the romance out of sex.”

“It was never there, Kaito. I assure you. Never there.”

Kaito’s laugh is a light, and it takes a moment before Shinichi joins in. Kaito pulls ‘Conan’ closer to his chest, and Shinichi tightens his grip on Kaito’s shirt. Their laughter gives way to silence, and after a moment they find themselves in silence simply enjoying the heat and the press of the other against them.

“If it really does take you another ten years to pass for a legal age though,” Kaito whispered, “I don’t know if I’ll want to keep my hands to myself.”

Shinichi snorted, “I was not expecting that comment, Kaito.”

Kaito smirked wild like a mad man madly in love, “Does that mean you’re telling me no then?” He cooed, “Because really, at that point it’s really you’re fault that I’m having to wait. You shouldn’t be so cruel.”

Shinichi’s laughter was a loud roar of disbelief, “Oh my, is this really how normal people think?”

Kaito’s laughter was an aborted snort of a poker face caving to express his matching humor at the joke, “Maybe. I don’t really know though - I don’t really know if the kiddo running around and breaking into museums trying to steal the secert to immortality should really be the touching stone for defining any part of normalacy.”

“Fair,” Shinichi grumbled as he fought back snorting again, “That is a very fair point there.”

“It’s not that funny,” Kaito managed to dead pan. Getting to see Shinichi break down again under the attempts to maintain some sort of composure made the struggle of delivering that line perfectly worth it. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Asexuality and Grey and Demi and Romantic Identities - oh my. 
> 
> aka yes - intentionally vague for those trying to label the details of Shinichi here. 
> 
> Although, I don't really think fitting Shinichi's at the sex repulsed part of the ace spectrum works with this fic. And that is not me trying to say something. I just wanted Kaito to get sweet talked and - and well honestly I'm more of the same space in the spectrum as what I'm writing with Shinichi here honestly and I didn't really feel comfortable trying to work through relationship discussions that I haven't - in different shapes admittedly - had to work through trying to answer myself. So, utmost of respect was intended by not taking the sex repulsed a-spec representation here.


	9. Sitting in Silence

_ Even with all of your distractions - those tender kisses - last night. I have it set up. _

**What?**

_ That old man. _

**Shinichi. I’m still here. Use your mouth. Words.**

**Use actual words.**

_ I know where you are. Your arm is around my waist. _

_ And how about no? _

**why are we texting?**

_ Because I don’t want to break the silence of the moment. _

_ It was nice. Is nice. _

_ Having you watching my back all night. _

**Oh yes. That’s why you fell asleep while I was telling you sweet nothings? So I’d stay - and ‘watch your back’? Hm?**

_ You kept calling me by my name. _

_ It’s been so long. _

_ And I was the one that started that.  _

_ After all - you’re the one that picked such a boring movie.  _

_ Of course I was going to talk over it. _

**Not my fault it wasn’t a murder mystery. Harry Potter is a classic.**

_ Is this magicians sticking together? _

**Oh. No. Absolutely not.**

**Absolutely not.**

**Real magic can go die in a fire.**

_ I feel like I’m missing a story behind this. _

**And you’re going to stay missing it.**

_ Fair enough. I’ll let you keep it. _

_ For now anyways. _

**It’s going to be too long before we can just be with each other again - isn’t it?**

_ And this is why I didn’t have this conversation aloud. _

**Ah. Yes. Let’s keep acting like this will be our forever.**

_ Very good idea, KID.  _

**Ha. We are a matching set of kids, aren’t we?**

_ lol. That’s one way of putting it I suppose. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title drop? 
> 
> Mic dropped more like amirite? 
> 
> *hides in textbooks now*


End file.
